News

APRIL 2011

NEWS UPDATE

It’s been a while since our last news report and a lot of things have happened in that time. We had to say good bye to a lot of friends and members who have parted ways with PSA and the South African Pleasure Boat Association. They have joined ranks with an illegal association called PBRSA, which are currently not recognized by any authority. They are not affiliated to or recognized by SASCOC (South African Sports Council and Olympic Committee) and are also not affiliated to the UIM (Union Internationale Motonautique) which is the worldwide governing body for all forms of powerboat racing. Sadly, a well known and respected outboard manufacturer like EVINRUDE , who has contributed a lot towards the growth of the SA Pleasure Boat Association, also seems to support this splinter group and has parted ways with SAPBA. Despite what is being said on a public medium like Face book and other media, PSA (Powerboat South Africa) is still the only authorized governing body for powerboat racing in South Africa, and are recognized by SASCOC and the UIM. SAPBA is still functioning and we are continuing with our race calendar for the 2011 racing season. Due to the reduced number of members /competitors we had revised our format of racing and we are now implementing a handicap system, which allows boats of varying performance potentials to compete on an equal basis. This has proved to be vary effective .SAIBA ( South African Inflatable Boat Association ) and JPRA (Junior Power boat Racing Association are also alive and well and we are racing together with this associations at selected events. In fact, SAIBA hosted the P750 Inflatable World Championships during December 2010, which was very successful, despite various attempts by certain individuals to prevent this event from happening. We are happy to report that a few world champions were crowned recently at the prestigious UIM Prize Giving event in Monaco. Congratulations to Barry Marx and Jolandi van Dijk, Anzelle Jansen van Vuuren and Dzjan Schutte.and Gordon and Donovan Butler. We also saw three of South Africa’s top FI Pilots attending the F1 Nations Cup test which was recently held in Abu Dhabi. They still support PSA and the UIM as the legal bodies for powerboat racing and we hope to see Bret Stuart, Timmy Fetherstonhaugh and Mark Sheperd in action when this series start later this year. Unlike PBRSA, the racer does not have the say in our Association, We implement strict safety rules and regulations as determined by the UIM and we are governed by a constitution that is in line with SASCOC AND the UIM. The race event at the Emanzini Country resort in Vrede ,Orange Fee State, was held on the 5th and 6th of March 2011. We would like to thank the following people for making this weekend possible as well as all the competitors for supporting this event.: Marlene Krause ( Emanzini Country Resort,Vrede Officer of the Day, Eben Oosthuizen and Denise Becker, Kim Moolman and all the others who assisted with the lap scoring .SPORTMED for providing the rescue services All the members and families of the Junior Powerboat Racing Association for joining us at this venue. The lay-out of the circuit was one of the most challenging courses yet and a few drivers ALMOST lost it around the corners, luckily there were no incidents and all had a good time over the weekend. As said before, the Handicap racing format provides for some very competitive racing and the front runner at this stage is Boat 6, a Sunchaser hull powered by a 225HP MERCURY.and driven by David Cronje (snr) and David Cronje (jnr).They are followed very closely by Riaan Becker and Johan Matthews in Boat 4, another Sunchaser hull powered by a 280HP MERCURY OFFSHORE racing motor. Currently in third position is Ferdi Kruger and Eben van der Bank in Boat 199, a Moonchaser hull, powered by a 200HP MERCURY. The young guys like Dylan Moolman, Chad Kruger ,Ryan Becker and their co-drivers are keeping the “ou manne”(old men ) very busy on the water and are even finishing in front of the faster boats on occasions. We will continue with this race format until our numbers have grown again. The next race will be at the Letaba Tzaneen Lions Club at Tzaneen dam on the 9th and the 10th April 2011.Joining us will be the Inflatables as well as the Juniors and F30`s.These youngsters are the future of powerboat racing and we will have more information and updates very soon. We conclude by encouraging everyone in our sport to forget about petty differences.. The doors of PSA and especially SAPBA are still open to all those that still want to pursue their dreams in our sport. The simple thing to do is to discuss this with your class associations. COME RACE WITH US !! Read the full news story here: Part 1 Part 1 Part 1

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Barham Bay

Barham Bay

Barham Bay